Although the five major online search engines have improved search safety, four percent of all search results link to dangerous websites, according to a report from McAfee's SiteAdvisor. Searches on Yahoo are the most risky, AOL the safest, the "The State of Search Engine Safety" report indicates.

With the exception of Yahoo, the percentage of risky sponsored links on all major search engines has improved, dropping from more than eight percent last year to about seven percent this year, according to the report. Google, in particular, has "taken small steps" to improve the safety of the sponsored links on its landing pages, said Mark Maxwell, a senior vice president with SiteAdvisor.